A Simple Stated Preference Tool for Estimating the Value of Travel Time in Rural Africa

Cook, Joseph; Kimuyu, Peter; Blum, Alan; Gatua, Josephine

doi:10.1017/bca.2016.13

Cited by 13 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…To place an economic value on this time, we use individual‐level estimates of the value of travel time (VTT) based on results from a simple stated preference experiment where respondents were asked to rank new hypothetical water sources that varied only in distance from home and price per jerrican [see Cook et al ., ]. The results used here are from a latent‐class multinomial logit model.…”

Section: Coping Cost Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also show that there is great heterogeneity in coping costs across households, both due to differences in the amount of time spent collecting water and the value of time saved. Rather than rely solely on assumptions about the value of travel time based on a fraction of wages, we use values predicted from a latent class model estimated with data obtained from a companion stated preference experiment [ Cook et al ., ]. Because enumerators recorded GIS locations of houses and water sources, we are also able to test the sensitivity of estimates of collection time estimates based on reported and observed distances, the first such comparison we are aware of in the coping cost literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The costs of coping with poor water supply in rural Kenya

Cook

Kimuyu

Whittington

2016

Water Resources Research

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As the disease burden of poor access to water and sanitation declines around the world, the nonhealth benefits--mainly the time burden of water collection -will likely grow in importance in sector funding decisions and investment analyses. We measure the coping costs incurred by households in one area of rural Kenya. Sixty percent of the 387 households interviewed were collecting water outside the home, and household members were spending an average of 2-3 h doing so per day. We value these time costs using an individual-level value of travel time estimate based on a stated preference experiment. We compare these results to estimates obtained assuming that the value of time saved is a fraction of unskilled wage rates. Coping cost estimates also include capital costs for storage and rainwater collection, money paid either to water vendors or at sources that charge volumetrically, costs of treating diarrhea cases, and expenditures on drinking water treatment (primarily boiling in our site). Median total coping costs per month are approximately US$20 per month, higher than average household water bills in many utilities in the United States, or 12% of reported monthly cash income. We estimate that coping costs are greater than 10% of income for over half of households in our sample. They are higher among larger and wealthier households, and households whose primary source is not at home. Even households with unprotected private wells or connections to an intermittent piped network spend money on water storage containers and on treating water they recognize as unsafe.

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Section: Coping Cost Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The costs of coping with poor water supply in rural Kenya

Cook

Kimuyu

Whittington

2016

Water Resources Research

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“…To our knowledge, however, there are few empirical estimates of the opportunity cost of time spent collecting water in sub-Saharan Africa that are needed to facilitate such investment analysis. (Exceptions include [29] and [30]). This is a clear area for future research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forecasts of mortality and economic losses from poor water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa

et al. 2020

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This paper presents country-level estimates of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)related mortality and the economic losses associated with poor access to water and sanitation infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1990 to 2050. We examine the extent to which the changes that accompany economic growth will "solve" water and sanitation problems in SSA and, if so, how long it will take. Our simulations suggest that WASH-related mortality will continue to differ markedly across countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In many countries, expected economic growth alone will not be sufficient to eliminate WASH-related mortality or eliminate the economic losses associated with poor access to water and sanitation infrastructure by 2050. In other countries, WASH-related mortality will sharply decline, although the economic losses associated with the time spent collecting water are forecast to persist. Overall, our findings suggest that in a subset of countries in sub-Saharan Africa (e.g., Angola, Niger, Sierra Leone, Chad and several others), WASH-related investments will remain a priority for decades and require a long-term, sustained effort from both the international community and national governments. Citation: Fuente D, Allaire M, Jeuland M, Whittington D (2020) Forecasts of mortality and economic losses from poor water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa. PLoS ONE 15(3): e0227611.

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“…Cook et al . [] provide a comprehensive overview of estimates of the value of travel time in low‐income countries. They begin with an overview of studies from the transportation sector, which find value of time estimates ranging from 18–86% of wages.…”

Section: Coping Costs Modeling Strategy and Calculationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cook et al . [] also review three papers that value time within the context of water collection. Whittington et al .…”

Section: Coping Costs Modeling Strategy and Calculationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The costs of delay in infrastructure investments: A comparison of 2001 and 2014 household water supply coping costs in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Gurung

Zhao

et al. 2017

Water Resources Research

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In 2001, we conducted a survey of 1500 randomly sampled households in Kathmandu to determine the costs people were incurring to cope with Kathmandu's poor quality, unreliable piped water supply system. From 2001 until 2014, there was little additional public investment in the municipal water supply system. In the summer of 2014, we attempted to reinterview all 1500 households in our 2001 sample to determine how they had managed to deal with the growing water shortage and the deteriorating condition of the piped water infrastructure in Kathmandu and to compare their coping costs in 2014 with those we first estimated in 2001. Average household coping costs more than doubled in real terms over the period from 2001 to 2014, from US$5 to US$12 per month (measured in 2014 prices). The composition of household coping costs changed from 2001 to 2014, as households responded to the deteriorating condition of the piped water infrastructure by drilling more private wells, purchasing water from both tanker truck and bottled water vendors, and installing more storage tanks. These investments and expenditures resulted in a decline in the time households spend collecting water from outside the home. Our analysis suggests that the significant increase in coping costs between 2001 and 2014 may provide an opportunity for the municipal water utility to substantially increase water tariffs if the quantity and quality of piped services can be improved. However, the capital investments made by some households in private wells, pumping and treatment systems, and storage tanks in response to the delay in infrastructure investment may lock them into current patterns of water use, at least in the short run, and thus make it difficult to predict how they would respond to tariff increases for improved piped water services.

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A Simple Stated Preference Tool for Estimating the Value of Travel Time in Rural Africa

Cited by 13 publications

References 28 publications

The costs of coping with poor water supply in rural Kenya

The costs of coping with poor water supply in rural Kenya

Forecasts of mortality and economic losses from poor water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa

The costs of delay in infrastructure investments: A comparison of 2001 and 2014 household water supply coping costs in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

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